Gee, there are a lot of stories that No Time to Die might get delayed again. The newest is a story by the Deadline entertainment news outlet. Naturally, the blog has questions.
Is this a surprise?
No, unless you’re a COVID-19 denier.
Admittedly, there has been no official announcement. But the U.K. is locking down (again). COVID-19 is a mess in the U.S. There are are reports that theaters in Japan (a major Asian market) may be shut down again.
There’s a new strain of COVID-19 going around that’s easier to spread. Regardless, deniers persist that the virus is “just the flu.” There are reports of people dying from COVID-19 while still claiming it’s a hoax.
What’s more, non-movie events are feeling the impact from COVID-19. The Detroit Auto Show, which had been scheduled for September 2021, has been canceled. The 2021 Master’s golf tournament (which had no spectators for a delayed 2020 event), will only have limited spectators this year.
Golf tournaments are outdoor events, unlike most movie showings.
Long story short: It doesn’t take much imagination to think COVID-19 could have an impact on No Time to Die again.
Does anyone really think there will be a surge of moviegoers attending indoor theaters in April?
See above.
Why write about this?
Because Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Bond’s home studio, tends to delay announcing delays until it has to. That happened in March 2020. It happened in fall 2020 (even while No Time to Die corporate partners were were releasing their Bond 25 promotions).
MGM tends to only announce things until it has to do so. Also, MGM reportedly is seeking a buyer. That could also affect Bond 25/No Time to Die’s release date.
To be fair, the new Deadine story has this passage: “We heard separately this morning that 007 promotional partners have already been given a heads up that the final Daniel Craig movie is bound to move to autumn. No definite release date has been set yet.”
Better late than never in terms of MGM’s trying to learn from past cluelessness.
Filed under: James Bond Films | Tagged: Bond 25, COVID-19, Deadline, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, No Time to Die | Leave a comment »
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